The chemist Guillermo Mínguez will be given the Princess of Girona Award 2018 in the category of Scientific Research on 28 June. He is a researcher of the Institute for Molecular Science (ICMol) of the Universitat de València. The ceremony will be inaugurated by the cardiologist Valentín Fuster, the basketball player Pau Gasol and the paralympic swimmer Teresa Perales.
Guillermo Mínguez has been awarded as a result of his extraordinary career in the field of Molecular Material Science. He is particularly recognised for his studies in the design of certain porous materials that will have a huge impact in the environment and in the field of power production. The judges highlighted the impact of his research in the Magnetic Metallic Organic Frameworks (MOF). This study addresses the basic aspects and its application in sensor devices and catalysis.
Mínguez received the Award alongside with the engineering María Escudero of the University of Copenhague.
The Princess of Girona Award is worth €10,000 and a Juan Muñoz’s sculpture. They recognise the career of young people (until 35 years old) that can be considered clear examples of creative talent in the fields of business, research, social action and music. According to the Foundation “the honourees have proved that they are eager for building a fairer and more sustainable world in a globalized environment. They have taken advantage of their respective professions to increase people’s motivation to change our society for the better.”
The Awards will recognise the careers of the singer Soleá Morente (FPdGi Arts and Letters Award 2018 ex aequo), the cellist Pablo Ferrández, the chemist Guillermo Mínguez (FPdGi Scientific Research Award 2018 ex aequo), the chemical engineer María Escudero (FPdGi Scientific Research Award 2018 ex aequo), the aeronautical engineer José Miguel Bermúdez (FPdGi Business Award 2018), the social entrepreneur Arancha Martínez (FPdGi Social Award 2018) and “Article 1” (FPdGi International Organisation Award 2018).
The ceremony will be celebrated in the Mas Marroch (Event Centre at Celler de Can Roca in Vilablareix, Girona). It will be presided over by the Kings. The journalist Pepa Bueno (RNE) will moderate a discussion between the cardiologist Valentín Fuster, the basketball player Pau Gasol and the paralympic player Teresa Perales. The event will continue the following day with the yearly meeting “Rescatadores de talento”, which is one of the main programmes of the Princess of Girona Foundation.
Guillermo Mínguez Espallargas (1981) graduated in Chemistry in the University of Seville and received a doctorate in the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom). He is currently a Ramón y Cajal researcher in the Institute for Molecular Science of the Universitat de València, where he is in charge of four research projects. He has focused in the development of new porous materials that can selectively accumulate certain gases. The implementation of the magnetic properties permits to detect the incorporation of such gas molecules and enables both the development of sensor devices and their application in the catalysis.